GoKawiilTushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR SpaceX confirmed it will build a terrestrial mobile network alongside Starlink satellites.
The company says Starlink Mobile will launch by the end of next year with next-gen satellites.
SpaceX believes its hybrid network can outperform traditional carriers by eliminating dead zones.
When reports emerged that SpaceX was exploring a Starlink-branded mobile carrier, it sounded like an ambitious long-term goal. At the time, the company had reportedly been pitching investors on a consumer wireless service, backed by its $17 billion acquisition of EchoStar’s 65MHz of spectrum and a possible terrestrial network to complement Starlink’s satellites. Just weeks later, SpaceX has gone from hinting at those plans to openly confirming them.
Speaking during the company’s first earnings call since its IPO, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell confirmed (via Fierce Network) that the company intends to build a terrestrial mobile network alongside its satellite infrastructure, laying out the clearest roadmap yet for what Starlink Mobile will eventually become.
“The spectrum that we purchased from EchoStar does have terrestrial components, so we definitely intend to build out the terrestrial component,” Shotwell said. Rather than relying solely on satellites, SpaceX wants a hybrid network that combines space- and ground-based infrastructure into what it describes as a “true mobile service.”
That hybrid approach is key. Today, Starlink’s direct-to-cell service operates using around 5MHz of spectrum leased from carrier partners, primarily for basic connectivity outside cellular coverage. Once the EchoStar acquisition closes, SpaceX will have access to 65MHz of spectrum, alongside next-generation satellites that Shotwell said will make Starlink Mobile 100 times better than the current service.
A different approach to building a mobile network The company also shared more about how it plans to build its terrestrial network without matching the enormous infrastructure spending of traditional carriers.
Instead of deploying large cellular towers everywhere, Elon Musk said SpaceX is developing a distributed network of smaller base stations that could be integrated with existing Starlink installations on homes and businesses.
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